Following Thol through the dark underground Dorian didn't manage to calm his heart. The pounding was audible to his own ears. Being nervous meant he was alert however, something his father had taught him. Then he realized something, was the man he remembered as his father truly his father? The mere thought of it was yet another trouble added to the list.

For now he just had to find Lalin, unless he guessed wrong she was from the tribe as well. She would have some answers he needed. He really ached to find Shiela , he was worried about her. He knew he could not search for her just yet. He would just endanger her, the best idea he could think of was to take her just before they made their escape. That would be how to put her in the least danger.

There was also the chance that they would use her as a hostage. The very thought made his blood boil. He clenched his fists, knuckles turning white from the pressure.

“Something bothering you?” Thol said, how he knew something was wrong without even being able to see was a mystery to Dorian. This man's perception skills were absurd.

Wringing his hands Dorian said, “I'm worried about my daughter... I was thinking that they may use her as a hostage.”

“Yes I suppose they would be the kind to do that, then we will have to break out rather quickly will we not. Best speed things up before they notice you are gone.” True to his word the old man started running. This had to be said, the old mans running speed was insane, Dorian was unable to keep up and had to shift every now and then not be left behind.

This only reaffirmed in Dorians mind what a monster this old man actually was. Traveling at this speed it did not take long for them to reach the dungeon. Dorian carefully peeked around the corner, as expected there was a duo standing guard. The soldiers standing guard were unfamiliar to him.

Thol slowed his pace and simply walked up to the guards. Dorian followed him acting as relaxed as he could.

Thol greeted the guards. “I want to have a chat with one of the prisoners.”

“My apologies master Thol, we have been instructed not to let anyone enter.” The soldier said bowing slightly.

“How about me,” Dorian said stepping forward. “One of my subordinates is in prison, I would like to question her about her actions.”

The guard turned to him treating him with the same respect. “My apologies sir but we really cannot let anyone enter, orders are orders.”

Without hesitation Thol's hands darted forward at lightning speed. The finger tips on on both hands pushed somewhere beneath the chin of the guards. The guards collapsed on their spots like a sack of oatmeal. Dorian hadn't even been able to follow the hands of the old man, a spark of fear nestled in his heart at seeing the expertize of the blows. Dorian was extremely glad they were on the same side.

The two guards hit the floor with a thud, Dorian didn't waste any time. He searched the guards looking for the keys, after fiddling around with their belt a bit he finally found the keys. He tried the different keys on the door, to his horror however none of the keys worked. Frustrated he tried to use all the keys again, but none of them fit.

“They must have only let the person in charge have the key, that way even if the guards wanted to let people in. They would not be able to, quite clever. Not that it will stop me. “ Old man Thol said, suddenly emanating a sense of power. He walked forward to the door, hand still clasped behind his back. Then the man moved, or atleast Dorian thought he moved. He had not seen anything except that the old man twitched a little.

Suddenly the door smashed on the ground, the hinges cleanly cut off. Dorian stared at the door for a few moments, eyes as wide as they would go. Thol calmly entered the prison, he made his way to a particular cell somewhere in the back. Once more the man twitched, and another door smashed onto the ground.

Dorian hurried over, what he saw shocked him however. Here was Lalin, but how long had she actually been here? The clothes were tattered, barely covering her skin. Body bruised, cuts here and there. Puddles of dried blood on the floor, the walls. The piece of clothing, which was a disgrace to the name, was a deep crusty red. The dress had been soaked in blood again and again. The piece was now made of more blood then actual clothing.

Lalin still managed to look up, she even managed to smile. “Glad you're ok boss..” She wispered, even the few words were difficult for her to say. The wounds on her lips split open once more as soon as she spoke. Dorian's heart clenched at the sight of her, he felt the tears filling his eyes. He walked forward and carefully opened the iron clasps holding her in place against the wall. He brought her down as gently as he could, holding her in his hands the power in his knees left him and he sank to the ground.

“I'm sorry,. I'm sorry.. Im so so sorry...” Dorian said, rocking back and forth, cradling her in his arms. Tears fell down, the cold wet pearls dripping on Lalins cheeks.

Mustering strength she said “What are you..” Deep stuttering inhale, “talking about boss.... keeping you safe..... is my job.” She even managed to put on a small smile on her face again. Dorians heart clenched yet again, he felt a deep rage flowing through his body. Rage was not the right word to classify it, hatred. A hatred he had never thought a person could feel for another swept through his body.

He breathed in sharply, “I promise I will get you out of here, I swear I will make things better.”

Gazing on him her lips twitched, “Know you...will boss... Know you wil....” Then she passed out. Dorian clutched her body closer, He breathed in sharply.

“Young man,” Thol said, “ Let me treat her, I know a few tricks that will at least lessen her pain.”

The old man which had always had the same small smile on his face, had a twisted grimace on his face now. He could feel the same anger Dorian felt oozing out of the old man like a dark liquid. Dorians doubts left him, no one would be able to fake these kind of emotions.

He nodded curtly, “I will leave her to you.” Dorian said standing up, he glanced at the other cells in the room. He walked up to one of them, then was surprised to see Arin chained here. Dorian grabbed his knife and concentrated his atoms to become more dense, his knife sliced through the lock like a hot knife through butter.

He kicked open the door, “Arin are you ok?!”

The dwarf looked up in surprise, thats when Dorian saw it, the crudely wrapped bandage around her eyes. The spots were her eyes should be covered in blood. He clenched his fist again, a burst of hatred sweeping through his body once more.

“If it isn't the lil warlord!” Arin said with a grin, “Finally come to your senses huh, could you let a girl out of these cuffs? I think I've had enough of this bondage play for the rest of my life.”

Dorian shook his head, Arin would never change. She was just like he remembered, maybe they had changed his memories but she was definitely still the same person. He opened her cuffs and helped her on her feet. She had a trouble standing for a few seconds, then she hit her thighs a few time with clenched fists. Then she stamped the ground a few times, checking if they could hold her weight.

After the display she looked up with that mischievous grin of her. “There, all better!” she let out some of that dwarven booming laughter. “So how much do you remember lil warlord?”

“I don't really remember anything, I have overheard that Shun is actually my brother and that he has betrayed me and the rest of my people to a group inside the empire as slaves.” Dorian said while helping Arin out of her cell. “As for what I think happened”

Dorian told her the story of what he remembered, joining the legion then going to a bar. How Ístril had been kidnapped and he ended up going to the sewers to free her. How he had found Shiela and Viyella there, released them. Then ended up at The Table, how he had gone on a mission against his own people. How he had slaughtered them without knowing who they were.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“These empire bastards really are screwed in the head aren't they, Well sit down. I will tell you as much as I know of what really happened.”

She told him how he was from a tribe to north west, The tribe called themselves The Vorn, which in there language meant the Winter Born. Although the empire called them a tribe they were much larger than that. Instead of a tribe they were more like a northern kingdom. There were was a collection of tribes that had gathered to form one kingdom. Each tribe had a different title but together they were called The Vorn.

Dorian was the son of the Leader of this kingdom, although he was the king, the tribes had different

traditions than the Empire or other kingdoms like it. The tribes were not human, they had a distinct difference. The whole race of The Vorn had the internal magic abilities. They did not have command of the regular types of magic. The only exceptions were halfbloods, When the Vorn had a child with one of another race. A new race was born, these people both had the inherit Internal magic, as well as the capabilities to use normal magic.

Lalin was an example of such a child, she was born of a Vorn and an elf. Halfbloods were not looked down on in the least, only 1 thing mattered to the Vorn. That was your capabilities, if you were a capable person. Strong, smart, passionate, any one of these could garner respect amongst the Vorn. Even outsiders could earn their place among the tribe if they proved themselves.

One day the Warlord had gotten a message that some of his people had been captured by a group of slavers. He had sent Dorian to free the people, Shun had come along with him. That and Dorians own warriors. A band that he had gathered himself, people he trusted and respected. He was the leader of a band of 40 warriors. These warriors were all extremely skilled, thus Dorians father felt it would be enough to send this group.

“Wait one second,” Dorian said, “I remember my father to be a smith and warrior. My mother was a fire mage. So my parents are completely different than I remember?”

“No,” Arin said, “Your father and his clan is well known for their smithing techniques. It's rather famous in the entire country. The Humming Hammer, that is what the people have named the smithing techniques of your clan. Although you are renowned weapon smiths, armor is not the strong suit of the Vorn.”

“Your father indeed spent a lot of his time training you and your brother to be excellent warriors. And your mother is indeed a fire mage. She is a normal human, even though she is an exceptional mage. Which makes you a half-blood as well, Your mother is extremely respected by the Vorn however. She had some exploits in the war between the Vorn and the empire. That is a story for another time however.”

Arin continued her story of how Dorian and his warriors had set out to find the abducted civilians. Arin had been one of the captured slaves, Dorian and his group had indeed killed the slavers that had taken them captive. However that is were everything had gone wrong. Suddenly members of The Table had appeared, Although Dorians warriors were extremely skilled they were still on the same level as the elites of The Table.

Perhaps they were the slightest bit stronger, but they had been outnumbered. Arin described the fierce fighting between the two groups of warriors. The battle was stagnated for a while, then it happened. Dorian was stabbed in the back, quite literally, by his brother. Shun had betrayed them and lead them into the ambush. Seeing their respected boss go down Dorians warriors went berserk.

Lalin in particular who had been close to Dorian, had gone on a rampage. She managed to kill several of the Table elite by herself.

But then she was knocked out by Shun, Shun it seemed had a long time crush on Lalin. It had turned into a creepy obsession. Dorians other warriors were either captured or killed. There were perhaps a handful of them who had been lucky enough or perhaps unfortunate enough to survive.

All of them had been thrown in the dungeon, Arin had been caught together with the warriors. She had joined them in the battle and clawed out the eyes of one of their enemies. Her punishment had been to have own eyes gouged out.

The slaves who had been captured and then had been released had on order of Dorian fled in all directions. That is how Dorian had been captured, then they had changed his memories. His brother had been jealous of Dorian. The thing that probably bothered him most was Lalin's love and devotion to Dorian. It had eventually caused him to snap. He had been so outraged by the anger Lalin had shown when he had stabbed Dorian that he had locked her up.

He then started to show his 'love' to Lalin by torturing her. Although Arin had not seen it for herself she was pretty sure that she had been raped several times as well. Shun had not let anyone touch her, he had tortured her with pleasure. She remembered hearing his cackling laughter as Lalin had screamed out in pain. The very memory made Arin shake in anger, she was quite literally trembling in rage.

Things had not gone to The Tables plan however. They thought that after they had captured Dorian and his troops the fight would have been over. What they had not been expecting however was the courage of the once captured slaves. The slaves who had been released by Dorian and his troops had been outraged by Shuns treachery. Dorian was widely respected amongst the Vorn, he had come to save his people. But then had been captured by the very brother he trusted to watch his back.

The slaves who could not stand being able to do nothing, had gathered. They had invaded the sewers of the city and started to launch guerrilla style attacks on the members of The Table. The table at first had merely been annoyed by these hit and run tactics. However they were suffering casualties, a lot more than they had expected. The civilians had gone crazy, they had a near fanatical

gleam in their eyes. Throwing everything away in an attempt to free Dorian. They had even had the gall to assault The Tables stronghold.

They had managed to kill about half of The Table's original members. The table decimated by the losses had quickly started recruiting again. Most of th members now were new members, a lot of them had no idea of the treachery that had been preformed. That was when Shun had come up with his cruel plan, he made magicians forcefully change Dorian's memories. Then he forced Lalin to come with them and kill her own people. If she did not do what he told her to he would kill Dorian.

Dorian had attacked the group, along with the rest of the Table. Once he had the backlash of the magic however. The cumulated stress of Dorian passing out and having to kill her own people had caused Lalin to break. She went on a rampage, attempting to kill all the people that were original members. She had however been quickly knocked out.

“How do you know all of this?” Dorian asked.

“My cell is right next to Lalin's, Shun tortured her with these conversations all the time. Most of the information I was able to make out from the bits and pieces.” Arin said shivering.

Dorian clenched his hands, he looked around at the other cells. They probably held all the other Vorn that had fought with him. He stood up, his mind already tirelessly at work to come up with a plan.

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Sorry for the delay [th_093.gif]

I released this chapter a bit late, i will probably, and i said PROBABLY release another chapter today.

[th_104_.gif] i'll work hard on the next one! :D

Thanks for reading!